The Uefa president Michel Platini says Euro 2012 referees will stop matches if players suffer racist abuse from fans, reports The Guardian. Platini said Uefa has empowered referees to "temporarily stop the game and finally cancel the game if this racism keeps rearing its head".
Concern about racism at the tournament has been increasing, with Manchester City's Italy forward Mario Balotelli threatening to walk off in protest at any abuse.
However Platini said in those circumstances Balotelli would be booked, with Uefa relying on referees to take action:
Uefa's chief refereeing officer, Pierluigi Collina, said all the teams had been made aware of the process they should follow if one of their players is abused.
"Things are clear. Referees have a protocol so they know what they have to do, and the match director, who is responsible for each match, knows what has to be done on the field of play." "It is not the player, Mr Balotelli, who is in charge of the situation."
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